DWP job advisers will soon be in GP surgeries and mental health services

Job advisers will be embedded in GP surgeries as part of government plans to “get Britain working again”, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced.

It has unveiled a further £167 million investment in Connect to Work, a scheme which is intended to support sick and disabled people into employment.

Some of this funding will go towards placing specialist employment advisors in GP surgeries, mental health services and community-based referral partners.

Campaigners fear this is a “huge risk” which could make people with health conditions “less likely to seek help” from the NHS.

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Pat McFadden, work and pensions secretary, said: “Writing off people with long-term health conditions or disabilities fails them and fails our economy. We are giving people a hand up, not a handout, realising their potential and providing them with the skills to succeed.”

Connect to Work is part of a £1 billion investment in employment support. It is locally designed and delivered, and the latest funding will see the scheme expanded to nine more areas of England.

These include the North East; South Midlands; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Buckinghamshire; Oxfordshire; West Sussex and Brighton; Berkshire; Cumbria; and York and North Yorkshire.

Connect to Work’s specialist advisers work closely with individuals to understand their circumstances, career aspirations and the barriers they face. It is intended to ensure people with health conditions receive tailored support to help them secure suitable and sustainable work.

These are different to Jobcentre work coaches and will not sanction people.

“Thanks to local areas hitting the ground running, it is already delivering results – proving that when we invest in people and communities, everyone wins,” McFadden said.

The DWP claims that at least 40,000 more disabled and unwell people will receive “intensive employment support” as a result of the new funding unveiled on Thursday (9 October).

Catherine Parsons, managing director of the Big Issue’s free recruitment support service Big Issue Recruit, said: “We’re encouraged to see that the government will be embedding job advisers in GP surgeries and other health providers. We know from our experience with Big Issue Recruit that many people with health conditions want to work, and that good quality work can have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing.

“The trust built between a jobseeker and their job coach is a foundation for developing the confidence needed to break down employment barriers and be prepared for work. Therefore, it’s vital that jobseekers do not feel pressured or forced back into employment before they’re ready if we want them to retain any job they obtain. There is also a need for employers to have greater flexibility in making work sustainable for employees with health conditions. Only when work sticks can employees, employers and the wider economy feel the benefits.”

However, disability charities have raised concerns. James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “There are a million disabled people who want to work but are denied the opportunity, and investment in specialist, personalised employment support for disabled people is essential.

“But the government must make sure it’s not pressuring people who are not well enough to work. Support must be optional and flexible, instead of built on a culture of fear.

“Investment in employment support must not be a trade-off with disability benefits, which are vital for covering the extra costs disabled people face, whether they’re working or not.”

This summer saw the government met with significant backlash over its plans to cut disability benefits from Labour MPs. It was forced to water down the proposals, with cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) paused until a review of the assessment process has concluded.

This will be led by disability minister Stephen Timms and co-produced with disabled people.

Cuts to the health element of universal credit are still going ahead. These will only impact new claimants, but around 700,000 people are expected to be affected by the end of the decade.

Ayla Ozmen, director of policy for campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, welcomed government investment in employment support services for disabled people but added: “The government must also look at how our broken and cruel social security system is fuelling this problem.

“Rather than seeking to make the system even meaner through more ill-considered cuts, we want to see the Timms Review set out a positive vision for disability benefits reform that actually addresses the barriers to work faced by disabled people.”

Trust in the DWP remains low, and there are fears that having job advisers in healthcare settings will mean people are less likely to seek medical help.

This could lead to people’s health worsening, pushing them further away from the workplace and needing more significant intervention from the NHS in the long term – heaping pressure on an already over-burdened healthcare system.

Mikey Erhardt, policy lead at Disability Rights UK, said: “Putting job advisers into GP surgeries is a huge risk. We know that due to its years of failure and dangerous practices, the majority of disabled people do not trust the DWP.

“Putting DWP workers into health settings only further blurs the lines between health and work. You can’t work yourself out of poor health. We know it’s the failure of government to make work safe, accessible and well-paying, which means that hundreds of thousands leave work because they are getting sicker.

“We struggle to understand how working on a CV will help someone unable to work because their physical or mental health is a barrier. If anything, this will just make people less likely to seek help –worried that the toxic interactions they have at the Jobcentre will now carry over to their local GP.”

Charities argue that people’s health should be the priority before they are offered employment support.

Alexa Knight, director of policy and influencing at the Mental Health Foundation, said: “When someone is both out of work and experiencing a mental health problem, the focus should always be on helping that person feel better first, before finding them a job. 

“Once someone does feel well enough to begin exploring a return to work, programmes like this, which aim to provide holistic employment and health support in familiar locations, can be a real benefit to their health and ability to rejoin the workforce.”

Government data shows that more than one in four disability benefit claimants feel they might be able to work in the future but only if their health improves.

Knight added: “While some measures being taken forward by the government, such as the Employment Rights Bill, will make changes that should help the workplace work better for those of us with disabilities, these will not automatically transform every job into being mentally healthy.

“The challenge for Connect to Work will be how successfully the programme helps people find the kinds of jobs that support positive mental health.”

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